Issachar B7D Fellowship

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Earlier, we saw how the Third Day of Creation foretold the literal gathering of the floodwaters and appearing of the Dry Ground of a new world following the Flood. Symbolically, it pointed to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) through whom God brought forth His plan of salvation - the dry ground as it were on which we are rescued from drowning in the sea of sin and judgment, this dry ground being none other than Jesus our Rock of salvation. But there was one more Kairos event that took place on this Day - the supernatural gathering of the waters and appearing of dry ground during the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Most of us are quite familiar with the Exodus story and how it symbolically describes our deliverance from bondage to sin when we accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour and Lord. But there is another and perhaps even more important observation - it was here that God first revealed His personal name. Although God’s name (Yahweh) was first used in Gen 2:4, bear in mind that Genesis was written by Moses, whom God revealed His name to. Later on (Gen 4:26, 12:8, 13:4, 21:33, 26:25), we see the children of Seth, as well as Abraham and Isaac “calling on the name of the Lord” but we are told in Ex 6:2-3 that God did not reveal His personal name to them, not even when asked by Jacob after wrestling the whole night with God (Gen 32:29-30). It was only here, with Moses, that God revealed His personal name, and we are told the reason in Ex 4:22 - because “Israel is my firstborn son.” God saved the Israelites because He loved them as His very own. He saved His people not just to free them from their physical bondage but to restore their true identity as His children. Reflections - Many seek God’s name for the wrong reasons, often for power or control, blessings or self-glory. Yes, we are told of the power found in His name alone - that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Rom 10:13). We can prophesy, drive out demons and perform many miracles in His name. However, when God proclaimed His name to the Israelites, it was because they were to be His children, His firstborn, who would carry His name to all the world. Likewise, when Jesus took on the name of God - “I AM” (Jn 6:35, 8:12, 10:9, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1; see also Jn 8:58) - it was not to seek glory for Himself although He could have easily done so, but to do His Father’s will. God gave us His name in Jesus to let us know that we are His children. It is this personal relationship that is the key to true discipleship. When we see God as our Heavenly Father, we are motivated by love and obedience, and His will and honour becomes what is most important in our lives. It was this love - love for His Father and love for us His brothers and sisters - that led Jesus to obey and do His Father’s will by dying on the Cross for us. Ultimately, it is God Himself who demonstrated true love to us His children. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, actually the father was the true prodigal by His extravagant show of love to his prodigal son. But this was exactly what God did for us as Paul explained in Rom 5:8. Like the father who rushed out of His home to meet his unworthy son, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, [God left His home and came down to us as a human in Jesus and] died for us.” (Lk 15:20, Rom 5:8). Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3227e75477_0_61

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we continue our study of the Third Day of Creation, when we look at how God brought about this dry ground of salvation through the lives of the Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - we learn some very important lessons about our Christian faith. First, God’s gift of eternal life is unconditional, meaning we cannot do anything to earn our salvation. It only requires faith on our part. Like Abraham, we are called to believe in God alone and in His word for us in order for God to credit or give us His righteousness to cover our sinfulness. What this means also is that, as Christians, we are children of promise like Isaac. Just as God promised Abraham a son and the blessing of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, God promised us His very own Son Jesus and the blessing of becoming Abraham’s spiritual descendants and the very children of God. Now, we do not become Christians by being born into Christian families. Neither do we become Christians by trying to earn God’s favour through our religious works. We become God’s children of promise only through faith in Christ, when we enter into a personal saving relationship with Him. Finally, we need to wait on God and not run ahead of Him. This is the main lesson behind Jacob’s life. Although he was already assured of God’s promises (Gen 25:23, Rom 9:10-13), Jacob did not wait for God’s Kairos but rushed ahead to try to steal the blessing. This led to a life on the run filled with lies and deception. Instead, we are to be like Joseph, who understood God’s Kairos and therefore knew what he should do. Let me elaborate - Time is God’s gift to us. Our time thus belongs to Him, and the best time for us is always His Kairos. In His wisdom and love, God gave His Creation Seven Days (7,000 years) to make everything good and whole (Shalom - perfect/complete/at rest). When Adam and Eve sinned, God in His mercy sent them out of Eden away from the Tree of Life so that they would not eat from this tree and end up spending eternity in darkness, doom and death. In His time, God gave us a second chance through one man (Noah) and called another (Abraham) through whom we could be saved, promising him a son. But Abraham could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He fulfilled His promise to give Abraham a son (Isaac). In His time, Isaac had twins, and God chose the younger (Jacob). But Jacob could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He wrestled Jacob into submission and through his dysfunctional family of twelve sons, brought forth the nation - Israel. In His time, He revealed His plans to Jacob’s favourite son (Joseph) in a dream, which led to the beginning of his living nightmare. Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt and later imprisoned on false charges. But Joseph knew God and trusted in His faithfulness. He did not rush ahead in his own time but waited on God’s time. So, in God’s time, Joseph was appointed to the highest position in Egypt after Pharaoh. In His time, God brought to pass His plans as revealed in Joseph’s dreams, and brought Joseph face-to-face with his wicked brothers. But Joseph did not harbour anger and bitterness towards them. He knew God and recognised His time and purpose; it was God who sent him ahead into Egypt to preserve a remnant by a great deliverance. In His time, God used one man, Joseph - who could understand the signs of the times and knew what he had to do - as part of His larger salvation plan for all of us. Today, do we acknowledge that our time belongs to God? Do we know Him well enough and trust in His faithfulness to wait on His Kairos and not rush ahead in our own time? Do we know His heart and His purpose so that we can recognise the signs of the times that we live in today and know what we should do in such a time as this? Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we continue our study of the Third Day of Creation, when we look at how God brought about this dry ground of salvation through the lives of the Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - we learn some very important lessons about our Christian faith. First, God’s gift of eternal life is unconditional, meaning we cannot do anything to earn our salvation. It only requires faith on our part. Like Abraham, we are called to believe in God alone and in His word for us in order for God to credit or give us His righteousness to cover our sinfulness. What this means also is that, as Christians, we are children of promise like Isaac. Just as God promised Abraham a son and the blessing of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, God promised us His very own Son Jesus and the blessing of becoming Abraham’s spiritual descendants and the very children of God. Now, we do not become Christians by being born into Christian families. Neither do we become Christians by trying to earn God’s favour through our religious works. We become God’s children of promise only through faith in Christ, when we enter into a personal saving relationship with Him. Finally, we need to wait on God and not run ahead of Him. This is the main lesson behind Jacob’s life. Although he was already assured of God’s promises (Gen 25:23, Rom 9:10-13), Jacob did not wait for God’s Kairos but rushed ahead to try to steal the blessing. This led to a life on the run filled with lies and deception. Instead, we are to be like Joseph, who understood God’s Kairos and therefore knew what he should do. Let me elaborate - Time is God’s gift to us. Our time thus belongs to Him, and the best time for us is always His Kairos. In His wisdom and love, God gave His Creation Seven Days (7,000 years) to make everything good and whole (Shalom - perfect/complete/at rest). When Adam and Eve sinned, God in His mercy sent them out of Eden away from the Tree of Life so that they would not eat from this tree and end up spending eternity in darkness, doom and death. In His time, God gave us a second chance through one man (Noah) and called another (Abraham) through whom we could be saved, promising him a son. But Abraham could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He fulfilled His promise to give Abraham a son (Isaac). In His time, Isaac had twins, and God chose the younger (Jacob). But Jacob could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He wrestled Jacob into submission and through his dysfunctional family of twelve sons, brought forth the nation - Israel. In His time, He revealed His plans to Jacob’s favourite son (Joseph) in a dream, which led to the beginning of his living nightmare. Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt and later imprisoned on false charges. But Joseph knew God and trusted in His faithfulness. He did not rush ahead in his own time but waited on God’s time. So, in God’s time, Joseph was appointed to the highest position in Egypt after Pharaoh. In His time, God brought to pass His plans as revealed in Joseph’s dreams, and brought Joseph face-to-face with his wicked brothers. But Joseph did not harbour anger and bitterness towards them. He knew God and recognised His time and purpose; it was God who sent him ahead into Egypt to preserve a remnant by a great deliverance. In His time, God used one man, Joseph - who could understand the signs of the times and knew what he had to do - as part of His larger salvation plan for all of us. Today, do we acknowledge that our time belongs to God? Do we know Him well enough and trust in His faithfulness to wait on His Kairos and not rush ahead in our own time? Do we know His heart and His purpose so that we can recognise the signs of the times that we live in today and know what we should do in such a time as this? Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Over the next few sessions, we will be looking at the Third Day of Creation and from there bring this discussion on the first three days of creation to a close. If you recall, the first two days of creation pointed to Man’s fall into sin and how sin has to be dealt with by a holy and righteous God. This judgment eventually came about with the Flood but at the same time, God provided an Ark to save Noah and his family. Now, following the Flood, God literally gathered the waters - like what He did on the Third Day - so that life can once again be revived on the dry ground of a new world. But mankind continued to drown in the sea of sin due to their fallen nature. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, they wanted to make a name for themselves, beginning here with the Tower of Babel. Throughout the rest of God’s Word, we will see the contest between this Satan-inspired kingdom of man (Babylon) and the Kingdom of God, which we will see later is represented by God’s chosen city - Jerusalem. But the Third Day of Creation portrays an even more important reality - for just as God literally gathered the waters following the Flood, in symbolic terms, amidst what we could imagine as the sea of sin that threatens to engulf and drown us in eternal judgment, God gathered these waters and brought forth "dry ground" as it were, which is His plan to rescue us. God chose one man, Abraham, and from Abraham and his descendants, He birthed a nation, Israel, and it is through Israel that the world will be blessed, because out of this nation God gave us Jesus Christ. Oh, what a wonderful picture of hope and salvation that God shows us on this Third Day of Creation! Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g41768bd808_0_6

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Over the next few sessions, we will be looking at the Third Day of Creation and from there bring this discussion on the first three days of creation to a close. If you recall, the first two days of creation pointed to Man’s fall into sin and how sin has to be dealt with by a holy and righteous God. This judgment eventually came about with the Flood but at the same time, God provided an Ark to save Noah and his family. Now, following the Flood, God literally gathered the waters - like what He did on the Third Day - so that life can once again be revived on the dry ground of a new world. But mankind continued to drown in the sea of sin due to their fallen nature. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, they wanted to make a name for themselves, beginning here with the Tower of Babel. Throughout the rest of God’s Word, we will see the contest between this Satan-inspired kingdom of man (Babylon) and the Kingdom of God, which we will see later is represented by God’s chosen city - Jerusalem. But the Third Day of Creation portrays an even more important reality - for just as God literally gathered the waters following the Flood, in symbolic terms, amidst what we could imagine as the sea of sin that threatens to engulf and drown us in eternal judgment, God gathered these waters and brought forth "dry ground" as it were, which is His plan to rescue us. God chose one man, Abraham, and from Abraham and his descendants, He birthed a nation, Israel, and it is through Israel that the world will be blessed, because out of this nation God gave us Jesus Christ. Oh, what a wonderful picture of hope and salvation that God shows us on this Third Day of Creation! Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g41768bd808_0_6

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we end our discussion on the Second Day of Creation and the events of the flood of judgment and ark of salvation, I want to draw to your attention the prophetic significance of this period of time for us today. In Mt 24:37-39, Jesus tells us that when He comes back, the world will be like that during the days of Noah. For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. We saw how the flood only came after 1656 years, which is a very long time indeed. Enoch was born 622 years after Creation, meaning mankind would have heard Enoch’s warning of God’s coming judgment almost a thousand years earlier. But since nothing happened to the world for a long time after that, they doubted and ignored his warnings. By the time Noah came along, no one was listening. This is how the world will also be like when Jesus returns. Today, we live in precisely such a world. We are almost two thousand years from the time Jesus first came. The Bible warns us that Jesus will soon return but as nothing has happened for such a long time since then, we doubt and ignore God’s Word. As we will see in our coming sessions through the 7 Days of Creation, the days of Noah are indeed here. The question therefore is, do we recognise the times that we live in now? Is our ark - our faith in Christ - secure? Are we like the wise or foolish builders Jesus spoke about (Mt 7:24-27), able to withstand the rains, storms and floods of trouble and persecution that will strike before He returns? Have we put on the full armour of God (Eph 6:10-17) so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand? Are we able to eventually declare as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7)? As we reflect on this, we need to: First, change our perspective if we are to understand the times we live in and know what we should do. We need to listen to God’s Rhema - His Voice of Truth - in this Kairos rather than the lies and deception of the devil and even of our own flesh and human rationalisations. Second, know who we are in Christ and where we are in our walk with Him. We need to turn on and be guided by our spiritual GPS as it were to where God wants us to be in the world that we live in today, according to His eternal purposes for us. Lastly, live holy and separated lives. We can expect the end times to be like the days of Noah. Life will appear normal with people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, not knowing what will happen until the end suddenly strikes. Consequently, we need to be in but not of this world, building not our worldly livelihood but our ark of faith in Christ so that we will keep the faith when the rains, storms and floods come. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g415034d229_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we end our discussion on the Second Day of Creation and the events of the flood of judgment and ark of salvation, I want to draw to your attention the prophetic significance of this period of time for us today. In Mt 24:37-39, Jesus tells us that when He comes back, the world will be like that during the days of Noah. For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. We saw how the flood only came after 1656 years, which is a very long time indeed. Enoch was born 622 years after Creation, meaning mankind would have heard Enoch’s warning of God’s coming judgment almost a thousand years earlier. But since nothing happened to the world for a long time after that, they doubted and ignored his warnings. By the time Noah came along, no one was listening. This is how the world will also be like when Jesus returns. Today, we live in precisely such a world. We are almost two thousand years from the time Jesus first came. The Bible warns us that Jesus will soon return but as nothing has happened for such a long time since then, we doubt and ignore God’s Word. As we will see in our coming sessions through the 7 Days of Creation, the days of Noah are indeed here. The question therefore is, do we recognise the times that we live in now? Is our ark - our faith in Christ - secure? Are we like the wise or foolish builders Jesus spoke about (Mt 7:24-27), able to withstand the rains, storms and floods of trouble and persecution that will strike before He returns? Have we put on the full armour of God (Eph 6:10-17) so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand? Are we able to eventually declare as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7)? As we reflect on this, we need to: First, change our perspective if we are to understand the times we live in and know what we should do. We need to listen to God’s Rhema - His Voice of Truth - in this Kairos rather than the lies and deception of the devil and even of our own flesh and human rationalisations. Second, know who we are in Christ and where we are in our walk with Him. We need to turn on and be guided by our spiritual GPS as it were to where God wants us to be in the world that we live in today, according to His eternal purposes for us. Lastly, live holy and separated lives. We can expect the end times to be like the days of Noah. Life will appear normal with people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, not knowing what will happen until the end suddenly strikes. Consequently, we need to be in but not of this world, building not our worldly livelihood but our ark of faith in Christ so that we will keep the faith when the rains, storms and floods come. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g415034d229_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Although God had to judge the world through a worldwide flood, it was not as though He wasn't merciful or long-suffering. He did not destroy mankind immediately but waited patiently for over 1600 years, holding back His judgment so that they could return to Him in repentance. And God did not just sit back and do nothing during this period. He warned them through Enoch of the coming judgment. Enoch even named his son Methuselah (meaning “his death shall bring”) as God’s message to the wicked, for on the year Methuselah died, his death brought about the Flood (Genesis 5:25-29, 7:6). And God not only just waited and warned. As the title of my blog today indicates, the Second Day also revealed God’s plan of salvation through Noah’s Ark - this vault as it were separating the flood water below it from the rain water above during the first judgment. This first ark ultimately points to Jesus, our Spiritual Ark of salvation. In 1 Peter 3:20-22, Peter explained how just as Noah and his family were saved through water by the ark, rising above God’s judgment of mankind seen in the flood below it, we are now saved through the water of baptism as we put our faith in Jesus, who by His resurrection lifts us up from death to life and from the coming judgment of God at the end of time. Indeed, when we look at the very names of the ten generations from Adam to Noah, they spell out God's wonderful plan of salvation in Christ! Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ffd9327f5_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! Although God had to judge the world through a worldwide flood, it was not as though He wasn't merciful or long-suffering. He did not destroy mankind immediately but waited patiently for over 1600 years, holding back His judgment so that they could return to Him in repentance. And God did not just sit back and do nothing during this period. He warned them through Enoch of the coming judgment. Enoch even named his son Methuselah (meaning “his death shall bring”) as God’s message to the wicked, for on the year Methuselah died, his death brought about the Flood (Genesis 5:25-29, 7:6). And God not only just waited and warned. As the title of my blog today indicates, the Second Day also revealed God’s plan of salvation through Noah’s Ark - this vault as it were separating the flood water below it from the rain water above during the first judgment. This first ark ultimately points to Jesus, our Spiritual Ark of salvation. In 1 Peter 3:20-22, Peter explained how just as Noah and his family were saved through water by the ark, rising above God’s judgment of mankind seen in the flood below it, we are now saved through the water of baptism as we put our faith in Jesus, who by His resurrection lifts us up from death to life and from the coming judgment of God at the end of time. Indeed, when we look at the very names of the ten generations from Adam to Noah, they spell out God's wonderful plan of salvation in Christ! Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3ffd9327f5_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In the next three sessions, we will look at the Second Day of Creation, beginning here with the flood of judgment. If the First Day of Creation is a picture of how we are in darkness, being separated from the light of the glory of God because of our sin, then the Second Day reveals firstly how we stand under judgment by a holy and righteous God. Sin demands a price, which must be paid, and this price is death. We see this fulfilled in the Great Flood, the first worldwide judgment, which we can read about in Genesis 6-8. In order to better understand how this event could happen, remember in Gen 1:2, we were told how the world was formless, empty and dark in the beginning, and that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Bible tells us that the world was initially covered in water, for it was only on the Second Day that part of this water was separated out and lifted up into the atmosphere, and the Third Day that dry ground first appeared when the remaining waters were gathered, probably in the deepest parts of the earth. The flood came about when God released all these waters stored above the sky and underneath the earth back onto the world. For those of you who doubt whether the flood really happened, there are over 270 accounts of this global catastrophe from people groups and cultures all over the world. It is sobering to note that 1656 years passed from the time of Adam until the Flood. During this time, only 8 (Noah’s family) survived out of the possible 3-7 billion people that lived then. Noah’s father Lamech was 56 when Adam died at age 930, meaning that most of mankind would have heard first-hand from Adam about God, yet they still turned to evil. Imagine how heart-wrenching it was for Adam but even more so for God! You would also recall that following the Fall, God promised Adam and Eve in Gen 3:15 an offspring who would crush Satan’s head and so redeem mankind. They must have harboured this hope when Cain - literally the first “son of man” - was born. But instead of crushing Satan, Cain murdered his own brother, Abel. We are just so utterly sinful, unable to rescue ourselves. Only God Himself - when He came to us as Jesus the True “Son of Man” - is able to accomplish this - to crush Satan and cover the nakedness and shame of our sins. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g410e01418f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In the next three sessions, we will look at the Second Day of Creation, beginning here with the flood of judgment. If the First Day of Creation is a picture of how we are in darkness, being separated from the light of the glory of God because of our sin, then the Second Day reveals firstly how we stand under judgment by a holy and righteous God. Sin demands a price, which must be paid, and this price is death. We see this fulfilled in the Great Flood, the first worldwide judgment, which we can read about in Genesis 6-8. In order to better understand how this event could happen, remember in Gen 1:2, we were told how the world was formless, empty and dark in the beginning, and that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Bible tells us that the world was initially covered in water, for it was only on the Second Day that part of this water was separated out and lifted up into the atmosphere, and the Third Day that dry ground first appeared when the remaining waters were gathered, probably in the deepest parts of the earth. The flood came about when God released all these waters stored above the sky and underneath the earth back onto the world. For those of you who doubt whether the flood really happened, there are over 270 accounts of this global catastrophe from people groups and cultures all over the world. It is sobering to note that 1656 years passed from the time of Adam until the Flood. During this time, only 8 (Noah’s family) survived out of the possible 3-7 billion people that lived then. Noah’s father Lamech was 56 when Adam died at age 930, meaning that most of mankind would have heard first-hand from Adam about God, yet they still turned to evil. Imagine how heart-wrenching it was for Adam but even more so for God! You would also recall that following the Fall, God promised Adam and Eve in Gen 3:15 an offspring who would crush Satan’s head and so redeem mankind. They must have harboured this hope when Cain - literally the first “son of man” - was born. But instead of crushing Satan, Cain murdered his own brother, Abel. We are just so utterly sinful, unable to rescue ourselves. Only God Himself - when He came to us as Jesus the True “Son of Man” - is able to accomplish this - to crush Satan and cover the nakedness and shame of our sins. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g410e01418f_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we conclude our discussion on the First Day of Creation, let us reflect on the following two questions: First, Who am I? Because of the Fall of Adam, we are born into sin and darkness, doomed to a life that is separated from God and that will eventually end in physical and eternal or spiritual death. We are formless and empty, just as how Creation was at the very beginning. Here, it is interesting that the Jews start their day at sunset, unlike most of us whose day begins at sunrise. We could almost say that it is God’s way of daily reminding them and us about how we start in sin and darkness, just as our day starts at sunset. However, all is not gloom and doom. The good news is that although we may have started in sin and darkness, it doesn't mean that this defines our end point and true identity. In Christ, God has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light, the same way He called light out of darkness. He, who made light shine out of darkness, made His light shine into our hearts through knowing Christ. And just as He declares light to be good, God declares us good - because we are His children and bear His image. Next, Where are you? Do we find ourselves in a pit, or even a place where we feel there is no return? If we do, whose voice do we hear? Is it the voice of accusation, shame, guilt and despair? That it is too late and God would never take us back? Or do we hear His voice of truth, tenderly calling for us, seeking us as a shepherd looks for his one lost sheep, a father his lost son? Would God ask where we are if He was not looking for us? Or are we in our comfort zone, thinking that all is well? We may think that we are in a safe place, since our sins are “lesser” than many others around us. God knows where we are, but do we know ourselves? Are we where we ought to be, in the Father's house and in His Son's embrace? Like the prodigal younger son in Jesus’ parable of the two sons, we need to come to the realization and acceptance of where we are (and are not) before we can repent and turn back to where we ought to be - with God. And God will receive us “Just as I am”, wherever we may be coming back from. Otherwise, we will always remain restless wanderers. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g405f9a4316_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! As we conclude our discussion on the First Day of Creation, let us reflect on the following two questions: First, Who am I? Because of the Fall of Adam, we are born into sin and darkness, doomed to a life that is separated from God and that will eventually end in physical and eternal or spiritual death. We are formless and empty, just as how Creation was at the very beginning. Here, it is interesting that the Jews start their day at sunset, unlike most of us whose day begins at sunrise. We could almost say that it is God’s way of daily reminding them and us about how we start in sin and darkness, just as our day starts at sunset. However, all is not gloom and doom. The good news is that although we may have started in sin and darkness, it doesn't mean that this defines our end point and true identity. In Christ, God has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light, the same way He called light out of darkness. He, who made light shine out of darkness, made His light shine into our hearts through knowing Christ. And just as He declares light to be good, God declares us good - because we are His children and bear His image. Next, Where are you? Do we find ourselves in a pit, or even a place where we feel there is no return? If we do, whose voice do we hear? Is it the voice of accusation, shame, guilt and despair? That it is too late and God would never take us back? Or do we hear His voice of truth, tenderly calling for us, seeking us as a shepherd looks for his one lost sheep, a father his lost son? Would God ask where we are if He was not looking for us? Or are we in our comfort zone, thinking that all is well? We may think that we are in a safe place, since our sins are “lesser” than many others around us. God knows where we are, but do we know ourselves? Are we where we ought to be, in the Father's house and in His Son's embrace? Like the prodigal younger son in Jesus’ parable of the two sons, we need to come to the realization and acceptance of where we are (and are not) before we can repent and turn back to where we ought to be - with God. And God will receive us “Just as I am”, wherever we may be coming back from. Otherwise, we will always remain restless wanderers. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g405f9a4316_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In this and the next session, we shall look at the First Day of Creation. The first thing that the Creation Account tells us is that God created light. In fact, Jesus is the True Light. Light is associated with good and cannot co-exist with darkness, which is synonymous with evil. The next thing that the Creation Account tells us is that the First Day foreshadowed the Fall of Man. Because of sin, our starting point - like that of Creation - is darkness. The Apostle Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory (or light) of God” (Rom 3:23). Separated from God as darkness is from light, we are left formless and empty. In the dark, we cannot see ourselves or our surroundings. We do not know who or where we are, what we ought to become or where we ought to be headed. Instead, just as darkness flees from the light, our tendency whenever we sin is to run away or hide our shame/wrongdoing from God just like what Adam and Eve did (Gen 3:8). Like Cain, we are condemned to become “restless wanderers” here on earth (Gen 4:12). Now, the most wonderful part here is that God already knew all this from the very beginning. And only He can reconcile us back to Him - in Jesus. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3d8857b14b_0_0

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog! In this and the next session, we shall look at the First Day of Creation. The first thing that the Creation Account tells us is that God created light. In fact, Jesus is the True Light. Light is associated with good and cannot co-exist with darkness, which is synonymous with evil. The next thing that the Creation Account tells us is that the First Day foreshadowed the Fall of Man. Because of sin, our starting point - like that of Creation - is darkness. The Apostle Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory (or light) of God” (Rom 3:23). Separated from God as darkness is from light, we are left formless and empty. In the dark, we cannot see ourselves or our surroundings. We do not know who or where we are, what we ought to become or where we ought to be headed. Instead, just as darkness flees from the light, our tendency whenever we sin is to run away or hide our shame/wrongdoing from God just like what Adam and Eve did (Gen 3:8). Like Cain, we are condemned to become “restless wanderers” here on earth (Gen 4:12). Now, the most wonderful part here is that God already knew all this from the very beginning. And only He can reconcile us back to Him - in Jesus. Link to presentation - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oJkmnecyCSWf2FF5hmGZyqV6q4aPC-fBwSrwZ1s5JuA/present#slide=id.g3d8857b14b_0_0